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A review by tobin_elliott
Hearts in Atlantis by Stephen King
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I didn't expect to throw five stars at this one.
I remembered bits and pieces of this collection from my one and only read 25 years ago, however I do also remember truly enjoying the first story, and not being all that impressed with the ones that follow.
I was also 25 years younger, and now, some themes hit very differently.
I think the thing that bugged me the first time around was, I was expecting horror. The Low Men story delivered some, but then King seemingly eschews horror for the rest of the book...or does he?
King knows that horror can take many faces, and with this book, it's the horror of war—and the mentality of opposing war "at all costs" and what it can do to rational people—and he takes his time to examine it from many different angles.
And while all but one of the stories utterly captivated me, and a couple left me in tears, overall, this is King firing on all cylinders.
Just a gorgeous, terrible book.
I remembered bits and pieces of this collection from my one and only read 25 years ago, however I do also remember truly enjoying the first story, and not being all that impressed with the ones that follow.
I was also 25 years younger, and now, some themes hit very differently.
I think the thing that bugged me the first time around was, I was expecting horror. The Low Men story delivered some, but then King seemingly eschews horror for the rest of the book...or does he?
King knows that horror can take many faces, and with this book, it's the horror of war—and the mentality of opposing war "at all costs" and what it can do to rational people—and he takes his time to examine it from many different angles.
And while all but one of the stories utterly captivated me, and a couple left me in tears, overall, this is King firing on all cylinders.
Just a gorgeous, terrible book.